Judgment_paragraph 31 · Südzucker AG v Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe (C-423/18)

31That is the context in which the Finanzgericht Baden-Württemberg (Finance Court, Baden-Württemberg) decided to stay proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:(1) Should the first sentence of Article 3(2) of Regulation ([No 967/2006] be interpreted to mean that the time limit stated therein also applies to the amendment of a timely notification of the levy following an amended determination of the attributable quantity of surplus sugar after the passing of the time limit based on a check under Article 10 of Regulation [No 952/2006]?(2) If the answer to Question 1 is in the affirmative,In that case, where a timely notification is amended on the basis of findings made during checks, do the conditions established by the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 10 January 2002 in British Sugar, C‑101/99, EU:C:2002:7, for exceeding the notification time limit stipulated in Article 3(2) of Regulation [No 2670/81], as amended by [Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3559/91 of 6 December 1991 (OJ 1991 L 336, p. 26)], also apply for exceeding a notification time limit under Article 3(2) of Regulation [No 967/2006]?(3) If the first sentence of Article 3(2) of Regulation [No 967/2006] does not apply to amending notifications based on checks (see Question 1) or if the conditions for exceeding the time limit are fulfilled (see Question 2), should the time limit by which the amendment to the levy must be notified be 1 May of the following year or should national law apply?(4) If the answer to Question 3 is that neither 1 May of the following year nor national law applies:Is it compatible with the general principles of EU law, which include the principles of proportionality, legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations, if, in a case such as the present, the levy for the 2007/2008 sugar marketing year was notified on 20 October 2010 or 27 October 2011 due to the time needed for checks and the time needed for preparation and evaluation of the inspection report? Is objection by the sugar producer to the determination of the surplus quantities relevant in this context?’